Collapsible tube closure



L. THOMAS April 5, 1960 I 9 z w w Edward L. Thomas United States Patent' O COLLPSIBLE TUBE CLOSURE Edward L. Thomas, Hinckley, Ohio Application July 3, 1958, Serial No.`746,507

6 Claims. (Cl. 222-546) This inventon relates to container closures and particularly to a novel closure adapted principally for use with collapsible tubes or bottles.

An object of the inventon is to provide a unique closure for a collapsible tube that has a neck within which a lateral discharge openinglis formed 'so that the closure can control the opening by reciprocation. During one stroke of the closure the discharge opening is free to discharge material from the container and at the return motion of the closure during the same stroke of operation, the discharge opening is closed.

The closure cap is ni'ade of a`=cylindrical sleeve or a top having a cylindrical skirt that is reciprocable' on the neck of the container. vA stem is concen'trically arranged in the sleeve and exercises a control function as well as a locking function with respect to the container neck. The container bore has a small ledge near its upper end which is` adapted to be contacted by a stop formed on the stemV to limit the outward movement of the closure cap. This establishes one limit in the re- They will offer a limited resistance to movement of the.

closure with respect to the neck of the container, sufiicient to enable the lock to snap past the inner end of the neck bore and enable the lock to be compressed enough to pass into the bore when the cap is being moved to the position at which the discharge opening is open.

These together with other objects and advantages which willtbecome subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction androperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective View of a container fitted with a closure constructed in accordance with the inventon.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure l and showing the closure in the container closing position.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to that of Figure 2 but showing the closure in the open position.

In the accompanying drawings there is a container that is preferably, but not necessarily made of flexible material. Closure or closure cap 12 has an excellent application With squeeze bottles, although the container may possess other characteristics with the closure 12 functioning equally as well. Closure 12 consists of a fingergripping portion 18 that has a sleeve or skirt 19 depending therefrom. The sleeve or skirt is preferably cylindrical in formation, atpleast as to the inner surface 20 atented Apr. 5, 196D thereof. The outer surface can be plan or ornamented and of any shape. The same holds true for the fingergripping portion 18. It may be of any shape, style or design and in fact, may be completely omitted. An elongate stem 22 is attached to the top wall 24 of the closure and is concentric with respect to the surface 20. Here again, the stem may be circular in cross section (Fig. 3) or some other shape. Stem 22 is fitted in a bore 26 that extends through the neck 28 of the container 10. Bore 26 has a smooth surface, but stem 22 has a reduced diameter part 30 and a larger diameter part 32 with the reduced diameter part being at the wall 24 -end ithereof. This leaves a shoulder or ledge 36 separating the parts 30 and 32 with the shoulder or ledge a passage extending between the outer surface of neck 28 and its bore 26.

There is a lock 50 at the inner extremity of stem 30. The lock consists of an annular bead 52 that protrudes laterally from the larger diameter part 32 of stem 30. It is contemplated that other constructions may'be used in place of thebead 52, for instance a group of ribs, projectons or the like. Regardless of the construction, the functioning remains the same. When the 'closure is in the fully closed position the stem30 moves inwardly of the container 10 a distance sufficient' to have the elastic lock 50 snap under surface 54 at the inne;` extremity of bore 26. There is sufficient inherent elasticity in elastomeric substances, for instance polyethylene, to enable the lock .to snap over surface 54, and yet have the rib 52 compressed or squeezed together sufiiciently to enter bore 26 when the closure is moved to the container opening position.

The last mentioned position is shown in Figure 4. In order to discharge some of the substance from the container 10 the closure 12 is simply pulled upwardly with suflicient force to compress the lock 50 into bore 26, and the closure can be lifted with respect to neck 28 until the stop established by Shoulders 36 and 40 engage each other as shown in Figure 4. At this time the stem 22 which functions as a closure for passage 48 when the closure is in the position shown in Figure 2, is separated from passage 48 enabling the contents of the container to be discharged through a part of bore 26 and passage 48.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the nvention. Further, since numerous 'modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desred to limit the inventon to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the inventon as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. In combination with a container neck that has a bore and a lateral discharge passage, a closure comprising a sleeve, a stem within said sleeve and sldable in said bore, said sleeve disposed on the outside surface of said neck and covering said passage when the closure is in the container closing position at which said stem also covers said passage, said closure movable, longitudinally of said neck to a position at which said sleeve uncovers substance may pass through a part of said bore and passage, and compressible sealing means on said stem for engaging a portion of said neck adjacent to the inner end of said bore to lock said closure in the passage cov- Y`criug position. a

passage, means on said stem for engaging aportion of said neck adjacent to the inner end of saidrbore to lock said closure in the passage covering position, said means comprising a compressible enlargement on said stem that is adapted to be squeezed together when said closure is moved to the passage uncovering position by the movement of said enlargement into said bore.

3. In combination with a container neck that has a bore and a lateral discharge passage, a closure comprising a sleeve, a stem within said sleeve and slidable in said Vbore, said sleeve disposed on the outside surface of said neck and covering said passage when the closure is in the container closing position at which said stem also covers said passage, said closure movable longitudinally of said neck to a position at which said sleeve uncovers said passage and said stem uncovers said passage whereby substance may pass through a part of said bore and passage, means on said stem for engaging a portion of said neck adjaccnt to the inner end of said bore to lock said closure in the passage covering position, said stem having atreduced part and a larger diameter part, a shoulder separating said parts of said stem, a second shoulder in said bore and downstream of said discharge passage, said shoulders adapted to abut each other to form a stop when said closure is moved to the passage uncovering position.

4. The combination of claim 3, wheren said stem is constructed of an elastomeric substance so that said lock is compressible to fit into said bore when said closure is moved to the passage uncovering position.

5. A closure cap for a container neck that has a bore and a discharge passage laterally registered with said bore, said closure cap comprising a stem, said stem having a compressible enlargement at one end abutting a surface of the neck at the inner end of said bore when said stem is fully inserted in said bore to thereby retain said stem in a passage covering position and form a seal between said enlargement and said neck, means for manually withdrawing said stem into said bore thereby compressing said enlargement together as it moves into said bore to a position at which said stem uncovers said passage, means including a shoulder that projects inwardly of said bore and a shoulder on said stem for limiting the extent of outward movement of said stem with respect to said bore and thereby establishing the limit of travel of said stem in the outward direction at which said stem uncovers said passage.

6. A closure cap for a container neck that has a bore and a discharge passage registered laterally with said bore, said closure cap comprising a stem, said stem having a compressible enlargement at one end abutting a surface of the neck at the inner end of said bore when said stem is fully, inserted in said bore to thereby retain said stem in a passage covering position and form a seal between said enlargement and said neck, means for manually withdrawing said stem into said bore thereby compressing said enlargement together as it moves into said bore to a position atrwhich said stem uncovers said pas- Sage, means including a shoulder that projects inwardly of said bore and a shoulder on said stem for limiting the extent of outward movement of said stem with respect to said bore and thereby establishing the limit of travel of said stem in the outward direction at which said stem uncovers said passage, said means for manually withdrawing said stem including a skirt that fits on the outside surface of said neck and covers said passage when said stem is moved inwardly of said bore and separates from said passage when said stem is moved outwardly of said bore.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,179,423 Pari Nov. 7, 1939 2,717,728 Gray sept. 13, 1955 2,772,037 Rieke Nov. 27, 1956 

